Gaelen Foley - My Irresistible Earl (Inferno Club)

Love, that releases no beloved from loving,

took hold of me so strongly

that, as you see, it has not left me yet.

Dantes Inferno , Canto V. ll. 103105

England, 1804

B eing born into a secret, centuries-old order of chivalry sworn to the fight against evil was not a destiny for the faint of heart.

As a newly minted agent, twenty-two years old, Jordan Lennox, the Earl of Falconridge, had just completed years of rigorous training at the Orders remote, military-style school in the wilds of Scotland.

There, with his brother warriors, he had mastered all sorts of dangerous fun. He could scale sheer rock faces with naught but ropes and pulleys, had already swum the English Channel, could devise explosives out of a little saltpeter and random everyday objects found at hand. He was fluent in six languages, could navigate by the stars, and was so much at one with his smooth-bore rifle he could hit a bulls-eye at fifty yards blindfolded.

These were basic requirements for any young knight of the Order about to be deployed on his first mission.

Jordan, however, more prudent, sensible, and cautious than his headstrong teammates even at the start of their illustrious careers, had already made up his mind about how he did not want the life of a spy to affect him in the long term.

After years of observing the grim demeanor of their handler, Virgil, he had made a pact with himself not to end up like that.

Too many of the older agents had that same dark look: cynical to the point of bitterness, hard-edged, stony.

Ice-cold.

What was the point of taking the Orders blood oath to protect the Realm and everyone he lovedfriends and familyif a man ended up as dead inside as an old, blackened hunk of petrified wood?

And so, wherever his future missions might take him, he vowed, he would not let his work for the Order become the only thing that he had in his life.

The key, as best he could figure, was not to lose touch with normal people, normal life, as silly and trivial as it sometimes seemed compared to the high-stakes shadow war that he and his brother warriors had pledged to fight.

Max and Rohan preferred to scoff at the oblivious people in Society, but Jordan, with his wonderful parents, adoring siblings, and countless cousins, found a certain quaint charm in ordinary goings-on.

Participating in all the social rituals helped him keep his balanceand it was for this reason that he accepted the invitation to the country-house party.

He probably wouldnt be able to stay the full month of July, he supposed, for any day now, he expected to receive his first assignment to one of the foreign courts presently under threat.

With Napoleon running amuck across the Continent, every agent was needed, especially those of high birth who could be given entre into places and meet with people to whom common folk had no access.

But all this was a care for another day.

For now, there would be picnics, outdoor games, strawberry picking with the delicate young ladies, quadrilles with debutantes, perhaps a home theatrical at their hosts elegant country estate.

It was all so deliciously normal, the sort of pursuits in which any highborn young gentleman might while away the long, lazy weeks of summer. Jordan relished the chance to pretend for a while that he was no different than any of the other, well-fixed young rakes, aside from having already come into his title.

He was even prepared to let the other lads win most of the athletic contests. What he was completely unprepared for, however, was meeting Mara Bryce

London
Twelve years later

T here is a gorgeous man over there staring at you, Delilah drawled under her breath as the two fashionable young widows sat amid the wealthy crowd amassed at Christies grand auction rooms in Pall Mall. Mmm, hes very fit. Blond, with a smoldering look. Impeccable clothes. Go on, have a look. Ill take him if youre not interested.

Sh! Im concentrating! Mara, Lady Pierson, ignored her friends mischievous efforts to distract her and kept her attention focused on the auctioneer, who was smoothly managing the sale of the Old Master from his raised podium at the front of the long, high-ceilinged chamber.

Seven hundred fifty, do I have eight hundred pounds? Eight hundred fifty

You dont need another painting, darling, Delilah opined. What you really need to do is take a lover, as I have long advised.

That, I assure you, is the last thing I require.

Prude.

Mara snorted, barely paying attention to her as the bid was raised again. Another arrogant male to come along and lord it over me? No, thank you. Ive just got rid of one.

A lover, sweet, is different from a husband.

Well, you would know.

Delilah smacked her arm lightly for this bit of insolence. Mara shot her a wicked, twinkling look askance, then returned her gaze to the front of the room. No, my dear, I assure you, I can do without a man. Im nearly thirty years old, and Ive only just now got my life the way I want it. Why should I give some randy male the chance to wreck it for me?

Well, that is a good point. But randy males have their uses, darling. I daresay you will learn to enjoy them in time.

I doubt it. I have no talent for such things, just ask my husband. She cast her worldly friend a cynical glance.

Delilah smiled sympathetically. All the more reason for you to find a man who actually knows how to satisfy a woman.

Is there such a creature? she murmured, watching the auctioneer attentively.

To be sure! You could borrow Colebut, no. Then Id have to scratch your eyes out.

Mara laughed softly. Dont worry. Your Cole is safe from me. The only male I care about right now is two years old.

That may be, Mama bear, but be warned, now that youre out of mourning, youre going to find yourself considered fair game.

Mara shrugged with a restless glance around the auction hall at her competition for the painting. Whoever tries will only be wasting his time.

Do I hear nine hundred?

She quickly raised her numbered paddle again.

Delilah let out a bored sigh. Why are you spending a fortune on this gloomy old portrait of some Dutch merchants wife? Shes ugly, anyway. She has a bulbous nose.